


Advent Calendars Are For Children

by deansmultitudes



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Advent Calendar, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon Universe, Christmas, Dean Winchester is Good With Children, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-02
Updated: 2020-12-02
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:14:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,104
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27842815
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deansmultitudes/pseuds/deansmultitudes
Summary: Lisa buys advent calendars for the kids.
Relationships: Ben Braeden & Dean Winchester, Emma (Supernatural: Slice Girls) & Dean Winchester, Lisa Braeden/Dean Winchester
Comments: 5
Kudos: 14





	Advent Calendars Are For Children

**Author's Note:**

> I'm a little late for Dec 1st but oh well, time isn't real, it's 2020. Enjoy!

Lisa’s return brings a waft of cold air into the house. It smells like approaching snow. It’s December already—where the hell did the year go?

She’s carrying two big grocery bags in her arms and Dean hops off the couch not waiting for Ben or Emma to lift their eyes off their phones and move their lazy, teenage butts to help.

“You shoulda let me know you’re bringing groceries,” Dean says, taking the bags from her. “I’d have come out.”

“It’s just these two,” Lisa says, shrugging the coat off her shoulders. She adds something about doing a proper market run the next weekend, but Dean’s mind’s preoccupied before he even puts the bags on the kitchen counter.

He reaches into one of the bags, grabs the flat, cardboard box of chocolates he recognized right away, as it pokes out between the carrots and baguettes. The front has all the Christmas motifs galore printed on it: Santa Claus in his sleigh, a Christmas tree, chimneys poking up from the snow-covered rooftops. It has also got twenty-four sealed little windows cut into it, each one numbered with gold.

Dean grins, turning the calendar to face Lisa as she enters the kitchen. “He-ey, Christmas is a-coming, huh?”

Lisa cocks her head, soft amusement on her face. “You do know that’s for the kids, right?” she says, pulling out the second calendar out of the bag—a similar one, with a slightly different winter scene on it.

Dean purses his lips, offended at her veiled accusation. Obviously he did not for one second think that the chocolate advent calendar could be possibly for him, a grown up man.

“I know that.”

With a small chuckle, Lisa pushes the other calendar into his hands, her fingers chill against his skin.

“Go, give them to the kids, I’ll unpack these. I’m pretty sure Ben said something about being too old for these but I don’t think he’ll decline.”

Dean nods and moves for the living room where Ben and Emma have moved from staring at their phones to staring at some movie on the TV.

Would it make Dean an ass if he low-key didn’t mind Ben declining the calendar? It probably would, so he’s definitely not gonna be thinking about that.

“Does anyone want these or—?”

Emma’s head pops up first. “What is that?”

“An advent calendar,” Ben says, grabbing his from Dean. “Thanks.”

Without ceremony, he locates the window number one, plucks out the chocolate piece and pops it into his mouth then goes back to watching the movie.

Emma narrows her eyes at the box and the cartoonish image on it, as if trying to decide whether she’s too old for something so obviously designed for children.

“It’s chocolate,” Dean offers because chocolate always beats any doubt, doesn’t it?

From what Dean was told, last year, they didn’t have much of a Christmas. Lisa tried her best, he knows, but just like the kids, she wasn’t exactly in a festive mood since Dean was gone—stuck in Purgatory. So they skipped the advent calendars, the decorations and the caroling Ben used to do with his friends.

Knowing Dean’s absence ruined their Christmas sucked almost as much as not being able to be there with them, especially with it being Emma’s very first holiday. But that was then and he’s here now and he’s gonna make sure Emma gets the full Christmas experience this year.

The advent calendar, too childish for a seventeen year old as may be, is a good start.

Encouraged, Emma pokes her finger at one of the windows.

“Not that one!” Ben chimes in, miffed by her carelessness about the ritual. “You have to go in order. It’s December first, today.”

Emma wrinkles her nose but does as ordered.

“So I’m supposed to only eat one a day?”

“Yes!”

Emma doesn’t seem amused as she mulls the chocolate in her mouth.

“And what’s to stop me from eating all of them at once?”

Dean can’t hold back a wide grin at those words. He can’t say he’s ever felt more pride.

“Absolutely nothing,” he says.

“I heard that,” comes Lisa’s motherly tone.

Dean turns his head to find her standing with her arms crossed. He sends her an innocent smile.

“But, uh, you know, it’s more fun this way,” he clarifies and shoots Emma a wink.

Lisa shakes her head. “Alright, come help me with dinner,” she says, waving at Dean to follow.

He’s not gonna get scolded for spoiling Emma, is he? It was Lisa who bought them the calendars, after all. He's merely making sure Emma’s innate spark of rebellion keeps on burning.

But instead of a stink-eye, Lisa’s waiting for him with another advent calendar in her hand.

“And this one’s for…?” He’d rather be cautious this time, even as Lisa hands it over to him.

“Come on, I knew you’d want one, too.”

“I am definitely too old for this, Lis,” Dean says as his fingers wrap around the edge of the box and he pulls it from Lisa’s hand before she can change her mind and take it away.

He’s hardly managing to keep down his childish glee. Lisa knows him way too well.

“No one’s too old for chocolate.”

Dean rips open the window number one but stops before scooping up the chocolate piece. He looks up at Lisa. It’s not fair that he and the kids have all the fun and she’s got nothing. He moves the calendar towards her.

“Do you want this one? We can share,” he offers.

“It’s all yours. I’m not eating your first chocolate.”

But Dean really doesn’t mind sharing. “It’s fine,” he says, finger reaching for the window with a tiny, golden number two. “I can always just—”

“No!” Lisa snaps and he can almost hear ‘bad Dean’ in her voice, her tone’s bright and playful. She swats his hand away and pulls the box out of his grasp. “I’m gonna take this.” She picks out the chocolate and slips it into Dean’s mouth half-open in laughter and surprise. “And you’re gonna get the next one tomorrow.”

Dean rolls his eyes. “Okay, okay,” he mutters as the piece of chocolate melts in his mouth, overly sweet and cheap, the kind that only kids enjoy. And it’s just the best.

Lisa’s palm resting gently on his cheek makes it even sweeter.

“I’m glad you’re here,” she says, her eyes gazing at him so softly he might melt just like that piece of chocolate.

“Yeah, me too,” he says, leaning into the touch. “I think we’re gonna have a great Christmas.”

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Comments and kudos always very much appreciated!
> 
> Find this story on [tumblr](https://deansmultitudes.tumblr.com/post/636420012913082368/advent-calendars-are-for-children-dean-x-lisa)


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